page_title: Ancient furniture
section_title: Chairs
hierarchical_section_title: Ancient furniture / Roman furniture / Chairs
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Nachbildung eines Tricliniums (Speisezimmer einer römischen Villa) in der Archäologischen Staatssammlung München aus der Zeit des Römischen Reiches (EG): Klinen (Ruhesofas) in hufeisenförmiger Anordnung zur Essenseinnahme, Rekonstruktion, ca. 80 v. Chr. Bodenmosaik einer römischen Villa (original - Fundort: Kraiburg am Inn, etwa 3. Jh. n. Chr.) Römische Wandmalerei (Rekonstruktion mit Original-Bronzeteilen), kein Schild mit Zeitangabe vorhanden
context_page_description: There are few survivals of ancient Greek and Roman furniture, but a number of images in reliefs, painted pottery and other media. It was normally made of wood, but expensive examples were often fitted with metalwork elements, which have a better chance of survival. The styles were generally rather light and elegant in upper-class furniture, and by modern standards apparently not heavily upholstered.
  Some items entirely in metal, such as lampstands, braziers and stands for sacrifice, have survived, and some covered by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius have either been carbonized or left hollows in the volcanic rock that can be used as moulds for plaster of Paris, allowing a clear idea of their original form. The rich had tables and chairs supported by marble, and some of these have survived. Wicker was widely used for armchairs.
context_section_description: The sella, or stool or chair, was the most common type of seating in the Roman period, probably because of its easy portability. In addition, the sella in its simplest form was inexpensive to make. Both slaves and emperors used it, although those of the poor were surely plain, while the wealthy had access to precious woods, ornamented with inlay, metal fittings, ivory, and silver and gold leaf. Bronze sellae from Herculaneum were square in form and had straight legs, decorative stretchers, and a dished seat. The sella curulis, or folding stool, was an important indicator of power in the Roman period. There were sellae resembling both stools and chairs that folded in a scissor fashion to facilitate transport. 
  The Roman cathedra was a chair with a back, although there is disagreement as to the exact meaning of the Latin term. Richter defines the cathedra as a later version of the Greek klismos, which she says was never as popular as its Greek predecessor.  A. T. Croom, however, considers the cathedra to be a high-backed wickerwork chair that was typically associated with women. They have also been seen being used as early school teachers, pupils would sit around him in this chair while he taught. It showed who held the seat of power in the classroom.  As with Greek furniture, the names of various Roman types as found in texts cannot always be associated with known furniture forms with certainty.
  The Latin solium is considered to be equivalent to the Greek term thronos and thus is often translated as “throne.”  These were like modern chairs, with backs and arm rests. Three types of solia based on Greek prototypes are distinguished by Richter: thrones with “turned” and “rectangular” legs and grandiose thrones with solid sides, of which several examples remain in stone.  In addition, a type with a high back and arms, resting upon a cylindrical or conical base, is said to derive from Etruscan prototypes.
caption: Reconstructed triclinium or dining room, with three klinai or couches
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